Local swimmers impress at Stellenbosch Grand Prix-gala
A few of Tuks' top swimmers have achieved performances of international standard at the recent Stellenbosch Grand Prix gala.
The Commonwealth champion, Tatjana Schoenmaker, proved last week that her training is on track by swimming 2:25.24 in the 200m prelims and winning the 100m-breaststroke in 1:07.11 during the Stellenbosch Grand Prix-gala.
The Tuks swimmer’s 200-metre time ranks her in the top ten in the world for the moment.
Unfortunately, she had to withdraw from competing in the 200m-breaststroke due to a slight groin injury.
Rocco Meiring (Tuks head swimming coach) emphasised that Schoenmaker’s injury is not severe.
“It was a pro-active decision,” he explained, hinting that is better to be safe than sorry.
In the absence of Schoenmaker, it was Tuks’ 19-year old Kaylene Corbett who impressed by winning the 200m-breaststroke in 2:25.98. In doing so, she qualified to represent South Africa at the World Student Games. Her previous best was 2:27.30.
Corbett’s “speedy” performance means that she has to rethink her goals for the season.
The plan was certainly that she should swim a 2:25 something time; however, she was hoping to only do so during the South African Senior Championships. Equally exciting over the weekend was improving her time in the 100m-breaststroke.
Corbett ascribes her decision to get Meiring to coach her as one of the best she ever made.
“Don’t get me wrong I will be forever grateful for what my coaches in Port Elizabeth have done. After all, I did qualify for the 200m-breaststroke final during last year’s Commonwealth Games. After the Games, my initial plan was to go and study and train in the USA. I already had a bursary,” she explained.
However, according to Corbett everything changed after she talked to Meiring.
“What he had said made absolute sense. At the time I was swimming between 25 to 30 kilometres a week and thought everything was on track. I also did not realise the importance of gym work. I must admit I was in for quite a rude awakening once I started training at Tuks. The number of kilometres I had to swim during the week doubled. It was rough at first, but as my body adapted to the more serious training regime, I was amazed in the changes in my body,” Corbett concluded.
Another Tuks swimmer, Duné Coetzee, continued her dominance in the 200m-butterfly during the Stellenbosch Grand Prix winning in 2:13.09.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites:
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram.
